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Chapter Forty-Four
Melody was helping her mother put the books she’d gone through the afternoon before onto a newly-cleared-off shelf when her phone started buzzing. At first, she thought she’d just received a text, but the more it vibrated, the more she thought something might be wrong. She knew it wasn’t nearly time to go pick up Michael from school; it couldn’t be the school calling to say she was late. As she slid the phone out of her back pocket, she wondered what in the world might be going on.
There were five text messages all sent within the last minute, all from Delaney.
“Where are you?”
“Are you at the shop?”
“Get down here, girl.”
“Seriously, get down here now.”
“Are you ignoring me?”
There hadn’t even been time for her to
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A Christmas Melody Chapter Forty-Five
When Melody turned back to the counter, she looked at Delaney, and it was all she could do to keep from screaming. Had Reid really just asked her on a date? A real date?“Oh. My. Gosh!” Delaney said, keeping her voice as low as possible so as not to alarm the other customers.“Can you believe that?” Melody asked, still not sure she could believe it herself. “Thank you so much for dragging my keister down here.” She sat down on one of the barstools, knowing she couldn’t go running back to the shop just yet.“He’s so cute,” Delaney said, leaning on the counter in front of her. “Oh, I’m so happy for you!”“Thanks,” Melody said. Delaney had called her earlier in the week to let her know what was happening with her and Josh, so she added. “I’m happy for you, too. But I need to slow down and not ge
A Christmas Melody Chapter Forty-Six
Melody had not made it to church on Wednesday evening. She knew Michael was disappointed, even though she’d explained to him that afternoon on the way to Ms. Karen’s that she wasn’t able to go. She hated to disappoint him, but she just couldn’t handle another Bible study class full of Christmas wishes and stories of rejoicing for everything God had given His people when he’d sent His son to the Earth. She knew all that—she believed all that—but she didn’t want to hear it right now, not when memories of that horrible night two years ago flooded her from all directions.She’d stayed home working on the website, trying to lose herself in her work. It would’ve been impossible to do anyway, but her mother made it even worse when she sent a picture of Michael holding up a craft he’d made in his children’s group, a big grin on his face and the message saying, “He made this Baby Jesus
A Christmas Melody Chapter Forty-Seven
Melody listened to every word. At first, she wasn’t able to believe what he was asking, but then she realized Karen must have put him in an equally awkward position. At least he was giving her an easy out. Eventually, she managed to say, “I don’t play piano.”As soon as it came out of her mouth, she realized she should have accepted his invitation and just said a simple “no.” What she had said inspired inquiry, and he asked, “You don’t or you can’t?” and she wondered if he really didn’t already know the answer. Maybe she had been too vague about her past. Maybe that had been purposeful.She couldn’t think of an answer that would readily explain what she had meant, and since he’d already told her she could simply say no, she decided not to answer at all. “So what is our plan for tomorrow?”
A Christmas Melody Chapter Forty-Eight
Reid was quiet, and Melody thought maybe she’d overstepped. He’d joked before about her wanting to kidnap his son—did he think now maybe she had lost her mind? Had she? “Do you really want to do that?”“Yes, I do,” she said. “I’m sorry if that sounds crazy, Reid. But there’s just something about Michael that lifts my spirit. I can’t quite explain it to you, but moving back here has been so difficult on me. When I lived in Chicago, I had distractions. I could sit in my apartment and pretend that my dad was at home with my mom, watching TV or playing the piano. Of course, I didn’t do that because that really would be nuts—but the option was there. I wasn’t constantly reminded that he was gone. Now that I’m back here, I’m bombarded with the scents and sounds I associate with him. I can’t walk down the stairs without thinking I’ll see him standing by t
A Christmas Melody Chapter Forty-Nine
The day crawled by at a snail’s pace, and as much as Melody tried to focus on her work, she was having a hard time getting anything done. As soon as she’d dig into a box, she’d start to replay bits and pieces of her conversation with Reid the night before and completely lose track of what she was doing. Or she’d sit and stare at an antique, thinking about what she should wear or what he might say that night instead of considering how to price it or how best to market it. By the time Reid began to send her pictures from the party, she’d given up on actually getting any real work done and was sitting in front of the television with a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie on.“You are missing out!” his text read, and he sent her a series of pictures involving children running around a classroom, gingerbread houses with sagging roofs, ornaments with acrylic fingerprints on desks coated with a dusting of glitter,
A Christmas Melody Chapter Fifty
Turning the TV off, she went upstairs and stood in front of her closet. She knew she’d need to dress warm, but this was also an important date to her. While she’d normally just wear jeans and a sweater, didn’t she need to dress up a bit? After much deliberation, she finally decided on a long emerald green sweater that set off her eyes and thick black leggings that would match her black dress coat. She could wear her black boots as well. She didn’t even know for sure if Reid would even get a chance to see the sweater since they very well may be outside the entire time wearing coats, but she wanted to look nice just in case. An hour later, after a shower and a battle with her makeup and hair, she decided she was finally ready to head downtown. It was almost 4:00 now, which meant she’d be able to help out her mom for a little while before the parade, and she was hopeful that would keep the butterflies at bay and her mind on other things.
A Christmas Melody Chapter Fifty-One
Eventually the two ladies came out, still laughing like school girls, and Sarah rang up the old clock her friend had picked up. “Bill is going to love this,” the woman, dressed in a loud red coat with shimmering rhinestones across the lapel, mused.“I certainly hope so,” Sarah replied, her face beaming. “All right, Ruth. Here it is, darling. Now you two kids stop by and say hello before the parade. Melody and I will be right out there on the bench in front of the store.”“Bill will be excited to see you,” Ruth replied with a giggle, “but not as excited as he will be to see this clock!”“Take care, dear,” Sarah said as her friend headed for the door.“See you in a bit, hon,” Ruth shouted back and then added, “Goodbye, Melody!”Turning to smile in her direction, Melody said, “It was ni
A Christmas Melody Chapter Fifty-Two
“Is it almost time for the Christmas parade?” Michael asked for at least the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. “I want to go see Miss Melody!”Reid was standing in front of the mirror in the master bathroom trying to decide if he had made a mistake wearing his blue sweater over the top of his blue-and-white plaid shirt. “Will this be too hot with a coat on, too?” he mumbled to himself. He’d already changed at least four times, and it seemed odd to him to even care what he was wearing for a change, especially since he’d likely have his coat on the whole time, but he wanted to look nice for Melody, even if she couldn’t see it, and he was lost in his own reflection when Michael’s yelling from the attached bedroom became more invasive.“Dad? I wanna go!” the kindergartner said, coming in and slamming his hands down on the counter.“We will.
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